Why Oscar Piastri is the key to the title fight between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris

In Formula 1 as elsewhere, the years pass, the generations go by and the balance shifts. Three years ago, at the heart of one of the greatest seasons in history, Max Verstappen was the kid facing the legend Lewis Hamilton who sometimes used the art of communication to destabilize his young opponent. Red Bull, with four titles with Sebastian Vettel, had seen others but the fight was not only on the track. The three-time world champion learned and in his fight against Lando Norris, he chose to target… Oscar Piastri. Everything except a coincidence obviously.

“For me, this is absolutely not a [deuxième pilote] and if I were him, I would never accept himVerstappen said on the eve of the first laps of the wheel at the United States Grand Prix. For me it’s easy to speak out, of course, because I’ve been in Formula 1 for 10 years and it’s Oscar’s second season, so it’s always more difficult to assert yourself. But he’s a great F1 driver who doesn’t deserve to give up wins and positions and play second fiddle because he’s asked to..”

“Supermax” never needed to leave the victories to others since Red Bull was not fighting for the title when he arrived and he then methodically destroyed all his teammates. We can obviously believe that his temperament would have led him towards his personal ambitions but here he is not only guided by the desire to help his Australian colleague. Fourth in the World Drivers’ Championship, 94 points behind the Dutch leader, Piastri is not a threat. Not directly anyway.

Red Bull made its calculations and in Singapore the small point for the best lap gleaned by Daniel Ricciardo in the sister team (Racing Bulls), a last stand before his departure, allowed Verstappen to ensure a fourth world crown if he finishes the remaining six races on the calendar in second place, including if Lando Norris (McLaren) wins them all with the bonus point. But in the home stretch of the season, the fastest car is indeed orange and seeing McLaren take one or more one-two finishes will surprise no one.

The question will be whether Oscar Piastri will play the role of the perfect second or not. To tell the truth, if the season were to end badly for her, we would wonder how McLaren managed to miss out on the Drivers’ title with the best car in the field. But that is still the question and everything must be done to favor the designs of Norris, the best placed in the championship with 52 points behind Verstappen and 42 ahead of his teammate. Do everything and therefore sacrifice Piastri.

Over the last six races, the former Alpine driver has scored five more points than Norris (113 against 108) and everyone sees that sooner or later his talent will allow him to gain the upper hand over the latter. He has already shown signs of annoyance with team instructions and the team will not triumph without his help. The Woking team is playing on eggshells in this final straight, which Verstappen understood well. We don’t know if he will manage to throw a grain of sand into the McLaren machine but it would be wrong not to try. Anything other than a rival team looking in one and the same direction will allow him to pocket his fourth title.

The equation is simple: with the best car, McLaren must continue its successes, if possible with Lando Norris and if possible with Oscar Piastri just behind. The talented Australian does not lack ego and he did not hesitate to send everything to Alpine when his horizons no longer suited him. He is not quite in the same position at McLaren but his talent can allow him to make small differences. He too must find the balance. You have to assert yourself without completely offending your bosses or Norris who may be useful to you in the future. Is he capable of being docile? His teammate would have the good idea to quickly get closer to Verstappen in the championship to further establish his position and his claims to the world crown.